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Original Text |
Modern Text |
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Enter a GRAVEDIGGER and the OTHER gravedigger
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Enter a GRAVEDIGGER and the OTHER gravedigger
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GRAVEDIGGER Is she to be buried in Christian burial when she willfully seeks her own salvation?
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GRAVEDIGGER Is she to be buried in Christian burial when she willfully seeks her own salvation?
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OTHER I tell thee she is. Therefore make her grave straight. The crowner hath sat on her and finds it Christian burial.
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OTHER I tell thee she is. Therefore make her grave straight. The crowner hath sat on her and finds it Christian burial.
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GRAVEDIGGER How can that be, unless she drowned herself in her own defense?
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GRAVEDIGGER How can that be, unless she drowned herself in her own defense?
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OTHER Why, ’tis found so.
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OTHER Why, ’tis found so.
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GRAVEDIGGER It must be se offendendo. It cannot be else. For here lies the point: if I drown myself wittingly, it argues an act. And an act hath three branches—it is to act, to do, to perform. Argal, she drowned herself wittingly.
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GRAVEDIGGER It must be se offendendo. It cannot be else. For here lies the point: if I drown myself wittingly, it argues an act. And an act hath three branches—it is to act, to do, to perform. Argal, she drowned herself wittingly.
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OTHER Nay, but hear you, Goodman Delver—
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OTHER Nay, but hear you, Goodman Delver—
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GRAVEDIGGER Give me leave. Here lies the water. Good. Here stands the man. Good. If the man go to this water and drown himself, it is, will he nill he, he goes. Mark you that. But if the water come to him and drown him, he drowns not himself. Argal, he that is not guilty of his own death shortens not his own life.
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GRAVEDIGGER Give me leave. Here lies the water. Good. Here stands the man. Good. If the man go to this water and drown himself, it is, will he nill he, he goes. Mark you that. But if the water come to him and drown him, he drowns not himself. Argal, he that is not guilty of his own death shortens not his own life.
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OTHER But is this law?
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OTHER But is this law?
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GRAVEDIGGER |
GRAVEDIGGER |
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OTHER Will you ha' the truth on ’t? If this had not been a gentlewoman, she should have been buried out o' Christian burial.
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OTHER Will you ha' the truth on ’t? If this had not been a gentlewoman, she should have been buried out o' Christian burial.
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GRAVEDIGGER Why, there thou sayst. And the more pity that great folk should have countenance in this world to drown or hang themselves more than their even Christian. Come, my spade. There is no ancient gentleman but gardeners, ditchers, and grave-makers. They hold up Adam’s profession.
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GRAVEDIGGER Why, there thou sayst. And the more pity that great folk should have countenance in this world to drown or hang themselves more than their even Christian. Come, my spade. There is no ancient gentleman but gardeners, ditchers, and grave-makers. They hold up Adam’s profession.
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OTHER 30 Was he a gentleman?
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OTHER Was he a gentleman?
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GRAVEDIGGER He was the first that ever bore arms.
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GRAVEDIGGER He was the first that ever bore arms.
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OTHER Why, he had none.
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OTHER Why, he had none.
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GRAVEDIGGER What, art a heathen? How dost thou understand the Scripture? The Scripture says Adam digged. Could he dig without arms? I’ll put another question to thee. If thou answerest me not to the purpose, confess thyself—
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GRAVEDIGGER What, art a heathen? How dost thou understand the Scripture? The Scripture says Adam digged. Could he dig without arms? I’ll put another question to thee. If thou answerest me not to the purpose, confess thyself—
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OTHER Go to.
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OTHER Go to.
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GRAVEDIGGER What is he that builds stronger than either the mason, the shipwright, or the carpenter?
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GRAVEDIGGER What is he that builds stronger than either the mason, the shipwright, or the carpenter?
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OTHER The gallows-maker, for that frame outlives a thousand tenants.
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OTHER The gallows-maker, for that frame outlives a thousand tenants.
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GRAVEDIGGER I like thy wit well, in good faith. The gallows does well, but how does it well? It does well to those that do ill.
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GRAVEDIGGER I like thy wit well, in good faith. The gallows does well, but how does it well? It does well to those that do ill.
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Now thou dost ill to say the gallows is built stronger than the church. Argal, the gallows may do well to thee. To ’t again, come.
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Now thou dost ill to say the gallows is built stronger than the church. Argal, the gallows may do well to thee. To ’t again, come.
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OTHER “Who builds stronger than a mason, a shipwright, or a carpenter?”
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OTHER “Who builds stronger than a mason, a shipwright, or a carpenter?”
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GRAVEDIGGER Ay, tell me that, and unyoke.
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GRAVEDIGGER Ay, tell me that, and unyoke.
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OTHER Marry, now I can tell.
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OTHER Marry, now I can tell.
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GRAVEDIGGER 50 To ’t.
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GRAVEDIGGER To ’t.
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OTHER Mass, I cannot tell.
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OTHER Mass, I cannot tell.
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Enter HAMLET and HORATIO afar off
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Enter HAMLET and HORATIO afar off
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GRAVEDIGGER Cudgel thy brains no more about it, for your dull ass will not mend his pace with beating. And when you are asked this question next, say “A grave-maker.” The houses that he makes last till doomsday. Go, get thee in. Fetch me a stoup of liquor.
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GRAVEDIGGER Cudgel thy brains no more about it, for your dull ass will not mend his pace with beating. And when you are asked this question next, say “A grave-maker.” The houses that he makes last till doomsday. Go, get thee in. Fetch me a stoup of liquor.
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Exit OTHER
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Exit OTHER
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(digs and sings)
In youth when I did love, did love,
Methought it was very sweet
To contract–o–the time, for–a–my behove,
Oh, methought, there–a–was nothing–a–meet.
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(digs and sings)
In youth when I did love, did love,
Methought it was very sweet
To contract–o–the time, for–a–my behove,
Oh, methought, there–a–was nothing–a–meet.
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HAMLET Has this fellow no feeling of his business? He sings at grave- making.
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HAMLET Has this fellow no feeling of his business? He sings at grave- making.
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HORATIO 60 Custom hath made it in him a property of easiness.
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HORATIO Custom hath made it in him a property of easiness.
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HAMLET 'Tis e'en so. The hand of little employment hath the daintier sense.
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HAMLET 'Tis e'en so. The hand of little employment hath the daintier sense.
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GRAVEDIGGER (sings)
But age with his stealing steps
Hath clawed me in his clutch,
And hath shipped me into the land
As if I had never been such.
(throws up a skull)
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GRAVEDIGGER (sings)
But age with his stealing steps
Hath clawed me in his clutch,
And hath shipped me into the land
As if I had never been such.
(throws up a skull)
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HAMLET That skull had a tongue in it and could sing once. How the knave jowls it to the ground, as if it were Cain’s jawbone, that did the first murder! It might be the pate of a politician, which this ass now o'erreaches, one that would circumvent God, might it not?
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HAMLET That skull had a tongue in it and could sing once. How the knave jowls it to the ground, as if it were Cain’s jawbone, that did the first murder! It might be the pate of a politician, which this ass now o'erreaches, one that would circumvent God, might it not?
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HORATIO 70 It might, my lord.
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HORATIO It might, my lord.
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HAMLET Or of a courtier, which could say, “Good morrow, sweet lord!” “How dost thou, good lord?” This might be my Lord Such-a-one that praised my Lord Such-a-one’s horse when he meant to beg it, might it not?
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HAMLET Or of a courtier, which could say, “Good morrow, sweet lord!” “How dost thou, good lord?” This might be my Lord Such-a-one that praised my Lord Such-a-one’s horse when he meant to beg it, might it not?
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HORATIO 75 Ay, my lord.
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HORATIO Ay, my lord.
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HAMLET Why, e'en so. And now my Lady Worm’s, chapless and knocked about the mazard with a sexton’s spade. Here’s fine revolution, an we had the trick to see ’t. Did these bones cost no more the breeding but to play at loggets with them? Mine ache to think on ’t.
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HAMLET Why, e'en so. And now my Lady Worm’s, chapless and knocked about the mazard with a sexton’s spade. Here’s fine revolution, an we had the trick to see ’t. Did these bones cost no more the breeding but to play at loggets with them? Mine ache to think on ’t.
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GRAVEDIGGER (sings)
A pickax and a spade, a spade,
For and a shrouding sheet,
Oh, a pit of clay for to be made
For such a guest is meet.
(throws up another skull)
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GRAVEDIGGER (sings)
A pickax and a spade, a spade,
For and a shrouding sheet,
Oh, a pit of clay for to be made
For such a guest is meet.
(throws up another skull)
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HAMLET There’s another. Why may not that be the skull of a lawyer? Where be his quiddities now, his quillities, his cases, his tenures, and his tricks? Why does he suffer this rude knave now to knock him about the sconce with a dirty shovel and will not tell him of his action of battery? Hum! This fellow might be in ’s time a great buyer of land, with his statutes, his recognizances, his fines, his double vouchers, his recoveries. Is this the fine of his fines and the recovery of his recoveries, to have his fine pate full of fine dirt? Will his vouchers vouch him no more of his purchases, and double ones too, than the length and breadth of a pair of indentures? The very conveyances of his lands will hardly lie in this box, and must the inheritor himself have no more, ha?
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HAMLET There’s another. Why may not that be the skull of a lawyer? Where be his quiddities now, his quillities, his cases, his tenures, and his tricks? Why does he suffer this rude knave now to knock him about the sconce with a dirty shovel and will not tell him of his action of battery? Hum! This fellow might be in ’s time a great buyer of land, with his statutes, his recognizances, his fines, his double vouchers, his recoveries. Is this the fine of his fines and the recovery of his recoveries, to have his fine pate full of fine dirt? Will his vouchers vouch him no more of his purchases, and double ones too, than the length and breadth of a pair of indentures? The very conveyances of his lands will hardly lie in this box, and must the inheritor himself have no more, ha?
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HORATIO Not a jot more, my lord.
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HORATIO Not a jot more, my lord.
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HAMLET Is not parchment made of sheepskins?
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HAMLET Is not parchment made of sheepskins?
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HORATIO Ay, my lord, and of calfskins too.
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HORATIO Ay, my lord, and of calfskins too.
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HAMLET 100 They are sheep and calves which seek out assurance in that.
I will speak to this fellow.—Whose grave’s this, sirrah?
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HAMLET They are sheep and calves which seek out assurance in that.
I will speak to this fellow.—Whose grave’s this, sirrah?
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GRAVEDIGGER Mine, sir.
(sings)
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GRAVEDIGGER Mine, sir.
(sings)
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Oh, a pit of clay for to be made
For such a guest is meet.
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Oh, a pit of clay for to be made
For such a guest is meet.
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HAMLET I think it be thine, indeed, for thou liest in ’t.
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HAMLET I think it be thine, indeed, for thou liest in ’t.
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GRAVEDIGGER You lie out on ’t, sir, and therefore it is not yours. For my part, I do not lie in ’t, and yet it is mine.
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GRAVEDIGGER You lie out on ’t, sir, and therefore it is not yours. For my part, I do not lie in ’t, and yet it is mine.
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HAMLET Thou dost lie in ’t, to be in ’t and say it is thine. 'Tis for the dead, not for the quick. Therefore thou liest.
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HAMLET Thou dost lie in ’t, to be in ’t and say it is thine. 'Tis for the dead, not for the quick. Therefore thou liest.
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GRAVEDIGGER 'Tis a quick lie, sir. 'Twill away gain from me to you.
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GRAVEDIGGER 'Tis a quick lie, sir. 'Twill away gain from me to you.
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HAMLET 110 What man dost thou dig it for?
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HAMLET What man dost thou dig it for?
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GRAVEDIGGER For no man, sir.
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GRAVEDIGGER For no man, sir.
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HAMLET What woman, then?
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HAMLET What woman, then?
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GRAVEDIGGER For none, neither.
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GRAVEDIGGER For none, neither.
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HAMLET Who is to be buried in ’t?
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HAMLET Who is to be buried in ’t?
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GRAVEDIGGER |
GRAVEDIGGER |
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HAMLET How absolute the knave is! We must speak by the card, or equivocation will undo us. By the Lord, Horatio, these three years I have taken a note of it. The age is grown so picked that the toe of the peasant comes so near the heel of the courtier he galls his kibe.—How long hast thou been a grave-maker?
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HAMLET How absolute the knave is! We must speak by the card, or equivocation will undo us. By the Lord, Horatio, these three years I have taken a note of it. The age is grown so picked that the toe of the peasant comes so near the heel of the courtier he galls his kibe.—How long hast thou been a grave-maker?
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GRAVEDIGGER Of all the days i' the year, I came to ’t that day that our last
King Hamlet overcame Fortinbras.
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GRAVEDIGGER Of all the days i' the year, I came to ’t that day that our last
King Hamlet overcame Fortinbras.
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HAMLET How long is that since?
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HAMLET How long is that since?
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GRAVEDIGGER Cannot you tell that? Every fool can tell that. It was the very day that young Hamlet was born, he that is mad and sent into England.
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GRAVEDIGGER Cannot you tell that? Every fool can tell that. It was the very day that young Hamlet was born, he that is mad and sent into England.
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HAMLET Ay, marry, why was he sent into England?
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HAMLET Ay, marry, why was he sent into England?
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GRAVEDIGGER Why, because he was mad. He shall recover his wits there, or, if he do not, it’s no great matter there.
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GRAVEDIGGER Why, because he was mad. He shall recover his wits there, or, if he do not, it’s no great matter there.
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HAMLET Why?
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HAMLET Why?
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GRAVEDIGGER 'Twill not be seen in him there. There the men are as mad as he.
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GRAVEDIGGER 'Twill not be seen in him there. There the men are as mad as he.
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HAMLET How came he mad?
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HAMLET How came he mad?
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GRAVEDIGGER 135 Very strangely, they say.
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GRAVEDIGGER Very strangely, they say.
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HAMLET How “strangely”?
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HAMLET How “strangely”?
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GRAVEDIGGER Faith, e'en with losing his wits.
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GRAVEDIGGER Faith, e'en with losing his wits.
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HAMLET Upon what ground?
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HAMLET Upon what ground?
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GRAVEDIGGER Why, here in Denmark. I have been sexton here, man and boy, thirty years.
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GRAVEDIGGER Why, here in Denmark. I have been sexton here, man and boy, thirty years.
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HAMLET How long will a man lie i' the earth ere he rot?
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HAMLET How long will a man lie i' the earth ere he rot?
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GRAVEDIGGER Faith, if he be not rotten before he die—as we have many pocky corses nowadays that will scarce hold the laying in— he will last you some eight year or nine year. A tanner will last you nine year.
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GRAVEDIGGER Faith, if he be not rotten before he die—as we have many pocky corses nowadays that will scarce hold the laying in— he will last you some eight year or nine year. A tanner will last you nine year.
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HAMLET Why he more than another?
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HAMLET Why he more than another?
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GRAVEDIGGER Why, sir, his hide is so tanned with his trade that he will keep out water a great while, and your water is a sore decayer of your whoreson dead body. (indicates a skull) Here’s a skull now. This skull has lain in the earth three-and-twenty years.
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GRAVEDIGGER Why, sir, his hide is so tanned with his trade that he will keep out water a great while, and your water is a sore decayer of your whoreson dead body. (indicates a skull) Here’s a skull now. This skull has lain in the earth three-and-twenty years.
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HAMLET Whose was it?
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HAMLET Whose was it?
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GRAVEDIGGER A whoreson mad fellow’s it was. Whose do you think it was?
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GRAVEDIGGER A whoreson mad fellow’s it was. Whose do you think it was?
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HAMLET Nay, I know not.
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HAMLET Nay, I know not.
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GRAVEDIGGER |
GRAVEDIGGER |
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HAMLET This?
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HAMLET This?
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GRAVEDIGGER E'en that.
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GRAVEDIGGER E'en that.
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HAMLET Let me see. (takes the skull) Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio, a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy. He hath borne me on his back a thousand times, and now, how abhorred in my imagination it is! My gorge rises at it. Here hung those lips that I have kissed I know not how oft. —Where be your gibes now? Your gambols? Your songs? Your flashes of merriment that were wont to set the table on a roar? Not one now to mock your own grinning? Quite chapfallen? Now get you to my lady’s chamber and tell her, let her paint an inch thick, to this favor she must come. Make her laugh at that.—Prithee, Horatio, tell me one thing.
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HAMLET Let me see. (takes the skull) Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio, a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy. He hath borne me on his back a thousand times, and now, how abhorred in my imagination it is! My gorge rises at it. Here hung those lips that I have kissed I know not how oft. —Where be your gibes now? Your gambols? Your songs? Your flashes of merriment that were wont to set the table on a roar? Not one now to mock your own grinning? Quite chapfallen? Now get you to my lady’s chamber and tell her, let her paint an inch thick, to this favor she must come. Make her laugh at that.—Prithee, Horatio, tell me one thing.
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HORATIO What’s that, my lord?
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HORATIO What’s that, my lord?
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HAMLET Dost thou think Alexander looked o' this fashion i' th' earth?
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HAMLET Dost thou think Alexander looked o' this fashion i' th' earth?
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HORATIO 175 E'en so.
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HORATIO E'en so.
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HAMLET And smelt so? Pah! (puts down the skull)
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HAMLET And smelt so? Pah! (puts down the skull)
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HORATIO E'en so, my lord.
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HORATIO E'en so, my lord.
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HAMLET To what base uses we may return, Horatio. Why may not imagination trace the noble dust of Alexander till he find it stopping a bunghole?
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HAMLET To what base uses we may return, Horatio. Why may not imagination trace the noble dust of Alexander till he find it stopping a bunghole?
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HORATIO 'Twere to consider too curiously, to consider so.
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HORATIO 'Twere to consider too curiously, to consider so.
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HAMLET No, faith, not a jot. But to follow him thither with modesty enough, and likelihood to lead it, as thus: Alexander died, Alexander was buried, Alexander returneth to dust, the dust is earth, of earth we make loam—and why of that loam, whereto he was converted, might they not stop a beer barrel?
Imperious Caesar, dead and turned to clay,
Might stop a hole to keep the wind away.
190 Oh, that that earth, which kept the world in awe,
Should patch a wall t' expel the winter’s flaw!
But soft, but soft a while.
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HAMLET No, faith, not a jot. But to follow him thither with modesty enough, and likelihood to lead it, as thus: Alexander died, Alexander was buried, Alexander returneth to dust, the dust is earth, of earth we make loam—and why of that loam, whereto he was converted, might they not stop a beer barrel?
Imperious Caesar, dead and turned to clay,
Might stop a hole to keep the wind away.
Oh, that that earth, which kept the world in awe,
Should patch a wall t' expel the winter’s flaw!
But soft, but soft a while.
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Enter King CLAUDIUS , Queen GERTRUDE , LAERTES , and a coffin, with a PRIEST and other lords attendant.
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Enter King CLAUDIUS , Queen GERTRUDE , LAERTES , and a coffin, with a PRIEST and other lords attendant.
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Here comes the king,
The queen, the courtiers—who is this they follow,
And with such maimèd rites? This doth betoken
195 The corse they follow did with desperate hand
Fordo its own life. 'Twas of some estate.
Couch we a while and mark.
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Here comes the king,
The queen, the courtiers—who is this they follow,
And with such maimèd rites? This doth betoken
The corse they follow did with desperate hand
Fordo its own life. 'Twas of some estate.
Couch we a while and mark.
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HAMLET and HORATIO withdraw
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HAMLET and HORATIO withdraw
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LAERTES What ceremony else?
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LAERTES What ceremony else?
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HAMLET That is Laertes, a very noble youth, mark.
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HAMLET That is Laertes, a very noble youth, mark.
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LAERTES What ceremony else?
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LAERTES What ceremony else?
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PRIEST 200 Her obsequies have been as far enlarged
As we have warranty. Her death was doubtful,
And, but that great command o'ersways the order,
She should in ground unsanctified have lodged
Till the last trumpet. For charitable prayers
205 Shards, flints and pebbles should be thrown on her.
Yet here she is allowed her virgin crants,
Her maiden strewments, and the bringing home
Of bell and burial.
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PRIEST Her obsequies have been as far enlarged
As we have warranty. Her death was doubtful,
And, but that great command o'ersways the order,
She should in ground unsanctified have lodged
Till the last trumpet. For charitable prayers
Shards, flints and pebbles should be thrown on her.
Yet here she is allowed her virgin crants,
Her maiden strewments, and the bringing home
Of bell and burial.
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LAERTES Must there no more be done?
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LAERTES Must there no more be done?
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PRIEST 210 No more be done.
We should profane the service of the dead
To sing a requiem and such rest to her
As to peace-parted souls.
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PRIEST No more be done.
We should profane the service of the dead
To sing a requiem and such rest to her
As to peace-parted souls.
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LAERTES Lay her i' th' earth,
And from her fair and unpolluted flesh
215 May violets spring! I tell thee, churlish priest,
A ministering angel shall my sister be
When thou liest howling.
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LAERTES Lay her i' th' earth,
And from her fair and unpolluted flesh
May violets spring! I tell thee, churlish priest,
A ministering angel shall my sister be
When thou liest howling.
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HAMLET (to HORATIO) What, the fair Ophelia?
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HAMLET (to HORATIO) What, the fair Ophelia?
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GERTRUDE Sweets to the sweet. Farewell! (scatters flowers)
220 I hoped thou shouldst have been my Hamlet’s wife.
I thought thy bride-bed to have decked, sweet maid,
And not have strewed thy grave.
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GERTRUDE Sweets to the sweet. Farewell! (scatters flowers)
I hoped thou shouldst have been my Hamlet’s wife.
I thought thy bride-bed to have decked, sweet maid,
And not have strewed thy grave.
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LAERTES Oh, treble woe
Fall ten times treble on that cursèd head,
Whose wicked deed thy most ingenious sense
225 Deprived thee of! Hold off the earth awhile
Till I have caught her once more in mine arms.
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LAERTES Oh, treble woe
Fall ten times treble on that cursèd head,
Whose wicked deed thy most ingenious sense
Deprived thee of! Hold off the earth awhile
Till I have caught her once more in mine arms.
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(leaps into the grave)
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(leaps into the grave)
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Now pile your dust upon the quick and dead,
Till of this flat a mountain you have made,
T' o'ertop old Pelion or the skyish head
230 Of blue Olympus.
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Now pile your dust upon the quick and dead,
Till of this flat a mountain you have made,
T' o'ertop old Pelion or the skyish head
Of blue Olympus.
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HAMLET (comes forward) What is he whose grief
Bears such an emphasis, whose phrase of sorrow
Conjures the wandering stars, and makes them stand
Like wonder-wounded hearers? This is I,
Hamlet the Dane. (leaps into the grave)
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HAMLET (comes forward) What is he whose grief
Bears such an emphasis, whose phrase of sorrow
Conjures the wandering stars, and makes them stand
Like wonder-wounded hearers? This is I,
Hamlet the Dane. (leaps into the grave)
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LAERTES 235 The devil take thy soul!
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LAERTES The devil take thy soul!
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HAMLET and LAERTES grapple
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HAMLET and LAERTES grapple
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HAMLET Thou pray’st not well.
I prithee, take thy fingers from my throat,
For though I am not splenitive and rash,
Yet have I something in me dangerous,
240 Which let thy wisdom fear. Hold off thy hand.
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HAMLET Thou pray’st not well.
I prithee, take thy fingers from my throat,
For though I am not splenitive and rash,
Yet have I something in me dangerous,
Which let thy wisdom fear. Hold off thy hand.
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CLAUDIUS Pluck them asunder.
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CLAUDIUS Pluck them asunder.
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GERTRUDE Hamlet, Hamlet!
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GERTRUDE Hamlet, Hamlet!
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ALL Gentlemen—
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ALL Gentlemen—
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HORATIO (to HAMLET) Good my lord, be quiet.
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HORATIO (to HAMLET) Good my lord, be quiet.
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Attendants separate HAMLET and LAERTES
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Attendants separate HAMLET and LAERTES
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HAMLET Why, I will fight with him upon this theme
245 Until my eyelids will no longer wag.
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HAMLET Why, I will fight with him upon this theme
Until my eyelids will no longer wag.
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GERTRUDE O my son, what theme?
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GERTRUDE O my son, what theme?
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HAMLET I loved Ophelia. Forty thousand brothers
Could not with all their quantity of love
Make up my sum. What wilt thou do for her?
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HAMLET I loved Ophelia. Forty thousand brothers
Could not with all their quantity of love
Make up my sum. What wilt thou do for her?
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CLAUDIUS 250 O, he is mad, Laertes.
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CLAUDIUS O, he is mad, Laertes.
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GERTRUDE For love of God, forbear him.
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GERTRUDE For love of God, forbear him.
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HAMLET 'Swounds, show me what thou'lt do.
Woo’t weep? Woo’t fight? Woo’t fast? Woo’t tear thyself?
Woo’t drink up eisel, eat a crocodile?
255 I’ll do ’t. Dost thou come here to whine,
To outface me with leaping in her grave?
Be buried quick with her?—and so will I.
And if thou prate of mountains let them throw
Millions of acres on us, till our ground,
260 Singeing his pate against the burning zone,
Make Ossa like a wart! Nay, an thou'lt mouth,
I’ll rant as well as thou.
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HAMLET 'Swounds, show me what thou'lt do.
Woo’t weep? Woo’t fight? Woo’t fast? Woo’t tear thyself?
Woo’t drink up eisel, eat a crocodile?
I’ll do ’t. Dost thou come here to whine,
To outface me with leaping in her grave?
Be buried quick with her?—and so will I.
And if thou prate of mountains let them throw
Millions of acres on us, till our ground,
Singeing his pate against the burning zone,
Make Ossa like a wart! Nay, an thou'lt mouth,
I’ll rant as well as thou.
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GERTRUDE This is mere madness.
And thus a while the fit will work on him.
Anon, as patient as the female dove
265 When that her golden couplets are disclosed,
His silence will sit drooping.
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GERTRUDE This is mere madness.
And thus a while the fit will work on him.
Anon, as patient as the female dove
When that her golden couplets are disclosed,
His silence will sit drooping.
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HAMLET Hear you, sir.
What is the reason that you use me thus?
I loved you ever. But it is no matter.
Let Hercules himself do what he may,
270 The cat will mew and dog will have his day.
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HAMLET Hear you, sir.
What is the reason that you use me thus?
I loved you ever. But it is no matter.
Let Hercules himself do what he may,
The cat will mew and dog will have his day.
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Exit HAMLET
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Exit HAMLET
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CLAUDIUS I pray thee, good Horatio, wait upon him.
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CLAUDIUS I pray thee, good Horatio, wait upon him.
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Exit HORATIO
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Exit HORATIO
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(to LAERTES) Strengthen your patience in our last night’s speech.
We’ll put the matter to the present push.—
Good Gertrude, set some watch over your son.—
275 This grave shall have a living monument.
An hour of quiet shortly shall we see.
Till then in patience our proceeding be.
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(to LAERTES) Strengthen your patience in our last night’s speech.
We’ll put the matter to the present push.—
Good Gertrude, set some watch over your son.—
This grave shall have a living monument.
An hour of quiet shortly shall we see.
Till then in patience our proceeding be.
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Exeunt
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Exeunt
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Original Text |
Modern Text |
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Enter a GRAVEDIGGER and the OTHER gravedigger
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Enter a GRAVEDIGGER and the OTHER gravedigger
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GRAVEDIGGER Is she to be buried in Christian burial when she willfully seeks her own salvation?
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GRAVEDIGGER Is she to be buried in Christian burial when she willfully seeks her own salvation?
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OTHER I tell thee she is. Therefore make her grave straight. The crowner hath sat on her and finds it Christian burial.
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OTHER I tell thee she is. Therefore make her grave straight. The crowner hath sat on her and finds it Christian burial.
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GRAVEDIGGER How can that be, unless she drowned herself in her own defense?
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GRAVEDIGGER How can that be, unless she drowned herself in her own defense?
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OTHER Why, ’tis found so.
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OTHER Why, ’tis found so.
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GRAVEDIGGER It must be se offendendo. It cannot be else. For here lies the point: if I drown myself wittingly, it argues an act. And an act hath three branches—it is to act, to do, to perform. Argal, she drowned herself wittingly.
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GRAVEDIGGER It must be se offendendo. It cannot be else. For here lies the point: if I drown myself wittingly, it argues an act. And an act hath three branches—it is to act, to do, to perform. Argal, she drowned herself wittingly.
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OTHER Nay, but hear you, Goodman Delver—
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OTHER Nay, but hear you, Goodman Delver—
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GRAVEDIGGER Give me leave. Here lies the water. Good. Here stands the man. Good. If the man go to this water and drown himself, it is, will he nill he, he goes. Mark you that. But if the water come to him and drown him, he drowns not himself. Argal, he that is not guilty of his own death shortens not his own life.
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GRAVEDIGGER Give me leave. Here lies the water. Good. Here stands the man. Good. If the man go to this water and drown himself, it is, will he nill he, he goes. Mark you that. But if the water come to him and drown him, he drowns not himself. Argal, he that is not guilty of his own death shortens not his own life.
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OTHER But is this law?
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OTHER But is this law?
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GRAVEDIGGER |
GRAVEDIGGER |
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OTHER Will you ha' the truth on ’t? If this had not been a gentlewoman, she should have been buried out o' Christian burial.
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OTHER Will you ha' the truth on ’t? If this had not been a gentlewoman, she should have been buried out o' Christian burial.
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GRAVEDIGGER Why, there thou sayst. And the more pity that great folk should have countenance in this world to drown or hang themselves more than their even Christian. Come, my spade. There is no ancient gentleman but gardeners, ditchers, and grave-makers. They hold up Adam’s profession.
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GRAVEDIGGER Why, there thou sayst. And the more pity that great folk should have countenance in this world to drown or hang themselves more than their even Christian. Come, my spade. There is no ancient gentleman but gardeners, ditchers, and grave-makers. They hold up Adam’s profession.
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OTHER 30 Was he a gentleman?
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OTHER Was he a gentleman?
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GRAVEDIGGER He was the first that ever bore arms.
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GRAVEDIGGER He was the first that ever bore arms.
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OTHER Why, he had none.
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OTHER Why, he had none.
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GRAVEDIGGER What, art a heathen? How dost thou understand the Scripture? The Scripture says Adam digged. Could he dig without arms? I’ll put another question to thee. If thou answerest me not to the purpose, confess thyself—
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GRAVEDIGGER What, art a heathen? How dost thou understand the Scripture? The Scripture says Adam digged. Could he dig without arms? I’ll put another question to thee. If thou answerest me not to the purpose, confess thyself—
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OTHER Go to.
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OTHER Go to.
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GRAVEDIGGER What is he that builds stronger than either the mason, the shipwright, or the carpenter?
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GRAVEDIGGER What is he that builds stronger than either the mason, the shipwright, or the carpenter?
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OTHER The gallows-maker, for that frame outlives a thousand tenants.
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OTHER The gallows-maker, for that frame outlives a thousand tenants.
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GRAVEDIGGER I like thy wit well, in good faith. The gallows does well, but how does it well? It does well to those that do ill.
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GRAVEDIGGER I like thy wit well, in good faith. The gallows does well, but how does it well? It does well to those that do ill.
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Now thou dost ill to say the gallows is built stronger than the church. Argal, the gallows may do well to thee. To ’t again, come.
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Now thou dost ill to say the gallows is built stronger than the church. Argal, the gallows may do well to thee. To ’t again, come.
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OTHER “Who builds stronger than a mason, a shipwright, or a carpenter?”
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OTHER “Who builds stronger than a mason, a shipwright, or a carpenter?”
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GRAVEDIGGER Ay, tell me that, and unyoke.
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GRAVEDIGGER Ay, tell me that, and unyoke.
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OTHER Marry, now I can tell.
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OTHER Marry, now I can tell.
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GRAVEDIGGER 50 To ’t.
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GRAVEDIGGER To ’t.
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OTHER Mass, I cannot tell.
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OTHER Mass, I cannot tell.
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Enter HAMLET and HORATIO afar off
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Enter HAMLET and HORATIO afar off
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GRAVEDIGGER Cudgel thy brains no more about it, for your dull ass will not mend his pace with beating. And when you are asked this question next, say “A grave-maker.” The houses that he makes last till doomsday. Go, get thee in. Fetch me a stoup of liquor.
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GRAVEDIGGER Cudgel thy brains no more about it, for your dull ass will not mend his pace with beating. And when you are asked this question next, say “A grave-maker.” The houses that he makes last till doomsday. Go, get thee in. Fetch me a stoup of liquor.
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Exit OTHER
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Exit OTHER
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(digs and sings)
In youth when I did love, did love,
Methought it was very sweet
To contract–o–the time, for–a–my behove,
Oh, methought, there–a–was nothing–a–meet.
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(digs and sings)
In youth when I did love, did love,
Methought it was very sweet
To contract–o–the time, for–a–my behove,
Oh, methought, there–a–was nothing–a–meet.
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HAMLET Has this fellow no feeling of his business? He sings at grave- making.
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HAMLET Has this fellow no feeling of his business? He sings at grave- making.
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HORATIO 60 Custom hath made it in him a property of easiness.
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HORATIO Custom hath made it in him a property of easiness.
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HAMLET 'Tis e'en so. The hand of little employment hath the daintier sense.
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HAMLET 'Tis e'en so. The hand of little employment hath the daintier sense.
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GRAVEDIGGER (sings)
But age with his stealing steps
Hath clawed me in his clutch,
And hath shipped me into the land
As if I had never been such.
(throws up a skull)
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GRAVEDIGGER (sings)
But age with his stealing steps
Hath clawed me in his clutch,
And hath shipped me into the land
As if I had never been such.
(throws up a skull)
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HAMLET That skull had a tongue in it and could sing once. How the knave jowls it to the ground, as if it were Cain’s jawbone, that did the first murder! It might be the pate of a politician, which this ass now o'erreaches, one that would circumvent God, might it not?
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HAMLET That skull had a tongue in it and could sing once. How the knave jowls it to the ground, as if it were Cain’s jawbone, that did the first murder! It might be the pate of a politician, which this ass now o'erreaches, one that would circumvent God, might it not?
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HORATIO 70 It might, my lord.
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HORATIO It might, my lord.
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HAMLET Or of a courtier, which could say, “Good morrow, sweet lord!” “How dost thou, good lord?” This might be my Lord Such-a-one that praised my Lord Such-a-one’s horse when he meant to beg it, might it not?
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HAMLET Or of a courtier, which could say, “Good morrow, sweet lord!” “How dost thou, good lord?” This might be my Lord Such-a-one that praised my Lord Such-a-one’s horse when he meant to beg it, might it not?
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HORATIO 75 Ay, my lord.
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HORATIO Ay, my lord.
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HAMLET Why, e'en so. And now my Lady Worm’s, chapless and knocked about the mazard with a sexton’s spade. Here’s fine revolution, an we had the trick to see ’t. Did these bones cost no more the breeding but to play at loggets with them? Mine ache to think on ’t.
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HAMLET Why, e'en so. And now my Lady Worm’s, chapless and knocked about the mazard with a sexton’s spade. Here’s fine revolution, an we had the trick to see ’t. Did these bones cost no more the breeding but to play at loggets with them? Mine ache to think on ’t.
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GRAVEDIGGER (sings)
A pickax and a spade, a spade,
For and a shrouding sheet,
Oh, a pit of clay for to be made
For such a guest is meet.
(throws up another skull)
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GRAVEDIGGER (sings)
A pickax and a spade, a spade,
For and a shrouding sheet,
Oh, a pit of clay for to be made
For such a guest is meet.
(throws up another skull)
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HAMLET There’s another. Why may not that be the skull of a lawyer? Where be his quiddities now, his quillities, his cases, his tenures, and his tricks? Why does he suffer this rude knave now to knock him about the sconce with a dirty shovel and will not tell him of his action of battery? Hum! This fellow might be in ’s time a great buyer of land, with his statutes, his recognizances, his fines, his double vouchers, his recoveries. Is this the fine of his fines and the recovery of his recoveries, to have his fine pate full of fine dirt? Will his vouchers vouch him no more of his purchases, and double ones too, than the length and breadth of a pair of indentures? The very conveyances of his lands will hardly lie in this box, and must the inheritor himself have no more, ha?
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HAMLET There’s another. Why may not that be the skull of a lawyer? Where be his quiddities now, his quillities, his cases, his tenures, and his tricks? Why does he suffer this rude knave now to knock him about the sconce with a dirty shovel and will not tell him of his action of battery? Hum! This fellow might be in ’s time a great buyer of land, with his statutes, his recognizances, his fines, his double vouchers, his recoveries. Is this the fine of his fines and the recovery of his recoveries, to have his fine pate full of fine dirt? Will his vouchers vouch him no more of his purchases, and double ones too, than the length and breadth of a pair of indentures? The very conveyances of his lands will hardly lie in this box, and must the inheritor himself have no more, ha?
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HORATIO Not a jot more, my lord.
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HORATIO Not a jot more, my lord.
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HAMLET Is not parchment made of sheepskins?
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HAMLET Is not parchment made of sheepskins?
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HORATIO Ay, my lord, and of calfskins too.
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HORATIO Ay, my lord, and of calfskins too.
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HAMLET 100 They are sheep and calves which seek out assurance in that.
I will speak to this fellow.—Whose grave’s this, sirrah?
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HAMLET They are sheep and calves which seek out assurance in that.
I will speak to this fellow.—Whose grave’s this, sirrah?
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GRAVEDIGGER Mine, sir.
(sings)
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GRAVEDIGGER Mine, sir.
(sings)
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Oh, a pit of clay for to be made
For such a guest is meet.
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Oh, a pit of clay for to be made
For such a guest is meet.
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HAMLET I think it be thine, indeed, for thou liest in ’t.
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HAMLET I think it be thine, indeed, for thou liest in ’t.
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GRAVEDIGGER You lie out on ’t, sir, and therefore it is not yours. For my part, I do not lie in ’t, and yet it is mine.
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GRAVEDIGGER You lie out on ’t, sir, and therefore it is not yours. For my part, I do not lie in ’t, and yet it is mine.
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HAMLET Thou dost lie in ’t, to be in ’t and say it is thine. 'Tis for the dead, not for the quick. Therefore thou liest.
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HAMLET Thou dost lie in ’t, to be in ’t and say it is thine. 'Tis for the dead, not for the quick. Therefore thou liest.
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GRAVEDIGGER 'Tis a quick lie, sir. 'Twill away gain from me to you.
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GRAVEDIGGER 'Tis a quick lie, sir. 'Twill away gain from me to you.
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HAMLET 110 What man dost thou dig it for?
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HAMLET What man dost thou dig it for?
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GRAVEDIGGER For no man, sir.
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GRAVEDIGGER For no man, sir.
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HAMLET What woman, then?
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HAMLET What woman, then?
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GRAVEDIGGER For none, neither.
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GRAVEDIGGER For none, neither.
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HAMLET Who is to be buried in ’t?
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HAMLET Who is to be buried in ’t?
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GRAVEDIGGER |
GRAVEDIGGER |
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HAMLET How absolute the knave is! We must speak by the card, or equivocation will undo us. By the Lord, Horatio, these three years I have taken a note of it. The age is grown so picked that the toe of the peasant comes so near the heel of the courtier he galls his kibe.—How long hast thou been a grave-maker?
|
HAMLET How absolute the knave is! We must speak by the card, or equivocation will undo us. By the Lord, Horatio, these three years I have taken a note of it. The age is grown so picked that the toe of the peasant comes so near the heel of the courtier he galls his kibe.—How long hast thou been a grave-maker?
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GRAVEDIGGER Of all the days i' the year, I came to ’t that day that our last
King Hamlet overcame Fortinbras.
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GRAVEDIGGER Of all the days i' the year, I came to ’t that day that our last
King Hamlet overcame Fortinbras.
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HAMLET How long is that since?
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HAMLET How long is that since?
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GRAVEDIGGER Cannot you tell that? Every fool can tell that. It was the very day that young Hamlet was born, he that is mad and sent into England.
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GRAVEDIGGER Cannot you tell that? Every fool can tell that. It was the very day that young Hamlet was born, he that is mad and sent into England.
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HAMLET Ay, marry, why was he sent into England?
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HAMLET Ay, marry, why was he sent into England?
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GRAVEDIGGER Why, because he was mad. He shall recover his wits there, or, if he do not, it’s no great matter there.
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GRAVEDIGGER Why, because he was mad. He shall recover his wits there, or, if he do not, it’s no great matter there.
|
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HAMLET Why?
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HAMLET Why?
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GRAVEDIGGER 'Twill not be seen in him there. There the men are as mad as he.
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GRAVEDIGGER 'Twill not be seen in him there. There the men are as mad as he.
|
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HAMLET How came he mad?
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HAMLET How came he mad?
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GRAVEDIGGER 135 Very strangely, they say.
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GRAVEDIGGER Very strangely, they say.
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HAMLET How “strangely”?
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HAMLET How “strangely”?
|
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GRAVEDIGGER Faith, e'en with losing his wits.
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GRAVEDIGGER Faith, e'en with losing his wits.
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HAMLET Upon what ground?
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HAMLET Upon what ground?
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GRAVEDIGGER Why, here in Denmark. I have been sexton here, man and boy, thirty years.
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GRAVEDIGGER Why, here in Denmark. I have been sexton here, man and boy, thirty years.
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HAMLET How long will a man lie i' the earth ere he rot?
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HAMLET How long will a man lie i' the earth ere he rot?
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GRAVEDIGGER Faith, if he be not rotten before he die—as we have many pocky corses nowadays that will scarce hold the laying in— he will last you some eight year or nine year. A tanner will last you nine year.
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GRAVEDIGGER Faith, if he be not rotten before he die—as we have many pocky corses nowadays that will scarce hold the laying in— he will last you some eight year or nine year. A tanner will last you nine year.
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HAMLET Why he more than another?
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HAMLET Why he more than another?
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GRAVEDIGGER Why, sir, his hide is so tanned with his trade that he will keep out water a great while, and your water is a sore decayer of your whoreson dead body. (indicates a skull) Here’s a skull now. This skull has lain in the earth three-and-twenty years.
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GRAVEDIGGER Why, sir, his hide is so tanned with his trade that he will keep out water a great while, and your water is a sore decayer of your whoreson dead body. (indicates a skull) Here’s a skull now. This skull has lain in the earth three-and-twenty years.
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HAMLET Whose was it?
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HAMLET Whose was it?
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GRAVEDIGGER A whoreson mad fellow’s it was. Whose do you think it was?
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GRAVEDIGGER A whoreson mad fellow’s it was. Whose do you think it was?
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HAMLET Nay, I know not.
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HAMLET Nay, I know not.
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GRAVEDIGGER |
GRAVEDIGGER |
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HAMLET This?
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HAMLET This?
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GRAVEDIGGER E'en that.
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GRAVEDIGGER E'en that.
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HAMLET Let me see. (takes the skull) Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio, a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy. He hath borne me on his back a thousand times, and now, how abhorred in my imagination it is! My gorge rises at it. Here hung those lips that I have kissed I know not how oft. —Where be your gibes now? Your gambols? Your songs? Your flashes of merriment that were wont to set the table on a roar? Not one now to mock your own grinning? Quite chapfallen? Now get you to my lady’s chamber and tell her, let her paint an inch thick, to this favor she must come. Make her laugh at that.—Prithee, Horatio, tell me one thing.
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HAMLET Let me see. (takes the skull) Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio, a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy. He hath borne me on his back a thousand times, and now, how abhorred in my imagination it is! My gorge rises at it. Here hung those lips that I have kissed I know not how oft. —Where be your gibes now? Your gambols? Your songs? Your flashes of merriment that were wont to set the table on a roar? Not one now to mock your own grinning? Quite chapfallen? Now get you to my lady’s chamber and tell her, let her paint an inch thick, to this favor she must come. Make her laugh at that.—Prithee, Horatio, tell me one thing.
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HORATIO What’s that, my lord?
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HORATIO What’s that, my lord?
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HAMLET Dost thou think Alexander looked o' this fashion i' th' earth?
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HAMLET Dost thou think Alexander looked o' this fashion i' th' earth?
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HORATIO 175 E'en so.
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HORATIO E'en so.
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HAMLET And smelt so? Pah! (puts down the skull)
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HAMLET And smelt so? Pah! (puts down the skull)
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HORATIO E'en so, my lord.
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HORATIO E'en so, my lord.
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HAMLET To what base uses we may return, Horatio. Why may not imagination trace the noble dust of Alexander till he find it stopping a bunghole?
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HAMLET To what base uses we may return, Horatio. Why may not imagination trace the noble dust of Alexander till he find it stopping a bunghole?
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HORATIO 'Twere to consider too curiously, to consider so.
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HORATIO 'Twere to consider too curiously, to consider so.
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HAMLET No, faith, not a jot. But to follow him thither with modesty enough, and likelihood to lead it, as thus: Alexander died, Alexander was buried, Alexander returneth to dust, the dust is earth, of earth we make loam—and why of that loam, whereto he was converted, might they not stop a beer barrel?
Imperious Caesar, dead and turned to clay,
Might stop a hole to keep the wind away.
190 Oh, that that earth, which kept the world in awe,
Should patch a wall t' expel the winter’s flaw!
But soft, but soft a while.
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HAMLET No, faith, not a jot. But to follow him thither with modesty enough, and likelihood to lead it, as thus: Alexander died, Alexander was buried, Alexander returneth to dust, the dust is earth, of earth we make loam—and why of that loam, whereto he was converted, might they not stop a beer barrel?
Imperious Caesar, dead and turned to clay,
Might stop a hole to keep the wind away.
Oh, that that earth, which kept the world in awe,
Should patch a wall t' expel the winter’s flaw!
But soft, but soft a while.
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Enter King CLAUDIUS , Queen GERTRUDE , LAERTES , and a coffin, with a PRIEST and other lords attendant.
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Enter King CLAUDIUS , Queen GERTRUDE , LAERTES , and a coffin, with a PRIEST and other lords attendant.
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Here comes the king,
The queen, the courtiers—who is this they follow,
And with such maimèd rites? This doth betoken
195 The corse they follow did with desperate hand
Fordo its own life. 'Twas of some estate.
Couch we a while and mark.
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Here comes the king,
The queen, the courtiers—who is this they follow,
And with such maimèd rites? This doth betoken
The corse they follow did with desperate hand
Fordo its own life. 'Twas of some estate.
Couch we a while and mark.
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HAMLET and HORATIO withdraw
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HAMLET and HORATIO withdraw
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LAERTES What ceremony else?
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LAERTES What ceremony else?
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HAMLET That is Laertes, a very noble youth, mark.
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HAMLET That is Laertes, a very noble youth, mark.
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LAERTES What ceremony else?
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LAERTES What ceremony else?
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PRIEST 200 Her obsequies have been as far enlarged
As we have warranty. Her death was doubtful,
And, but that great command o'ersways the order,
She should in ground unsanctified have lodged
Till the last trumpet. For charitable prayers
205 Shards, flints and pebbles should be thrown on her.
Yet here she is allowed her virgin crants,
Her maiden strewments, and the bringing home
Of bell and burial.
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PRIEST Her obsequies have been as far enlarged
As we have warranty. Her death was doubtful,
And, but that great command o'ersways the order,
She should in ground unsanctified have lodged
Till the last trumpet. For charitable prayers
Shards, flints and pebbles should be thrown on her.
Yet here she is allowed her virgin crants,
Her maiden strewments, and the bringing home
Of bell and burial.
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LAERTES Must there no more be done?
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LAERTES Must there no more be done?
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PRIEST 210 No more be done.
We should profane the service of the dead
To sing a requiem and such rest to her
As to peace-parted souls.
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PRIEST No more be done.
We should profane the service of the dead
To sing a requiem and such rest to her
As to peace-parted souls.
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LAERTES Lay her i' th' earth,
And from her fair and unpolluted flesh
215 May violets spring! I tell thee, churlish priest,
A ministering angel shall my sister be
When thou liest howling.
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LAERTES Lay her i' th' earth,
And from her fair and unpolluted flesh
May violets spring! I tell thee, churlish priest,
A ministering angel shall my sister be
When thou liest howling.
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HAMLET (to HORATIO) What, the fair Ophelia?
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HAMLET (to HORATIO) What, the fair Ophelia?
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GERTRUDE Sweets to the sweet. Farewell! (scatters flowers)
220 I hoped thou shouldst have been my Hamlet’s wife.
I thought thy bride-bed to have decked, sweet maid,
And not have strewed thy grave.
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GERTRUDE Sweets to the sweet. Farewell! (scatters flowers)
I hoped thou shouldst have been my Hamlet’s wife.
I thought thy bride-bed to have decked, sweet maid,
And not have strewed thy grave.
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LAERTES Oh, treble woe
Fall ten times treble on that cursèd head,
Whose wicked deed thy most ingenious sense
225 Deprived thee of! Hold off the earth awhile
Till I have caught her once more in mine arms.
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LAERTES Oh, treble woe
Fall ten times treble on that cursèd head,
Whose wicked deed thy most ingenious sense
Deprived thee of! Hold off the earth awhile
Till I have caught her once more in mine arms.
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(leaps into the grave)
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(leaps into the grave)
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Now pile your dust upon the quick and dead,
Till of this flat a mountain you have made,
T' o'ertop old Pelion or the skyish head
230 Of blue Olympus.
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Now pile your dust upon the quick and dead,
Till of this flat a mountain you have made,
T' o'ertop old Pelion or the skyish head
Of blue Olympus.
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HAMLET (comes forward) What is he whose grief
Bears such an emphasis, whose phrase of sorrow
Conjures the wandering stars, and makes them stand
Like wonder-wounded hearers? This is I,
Hamlet the Dane. (leaps into the grave)
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HAMLET (comes forward) What is he whose grief
Bears such an emphasis, whose phrase of sorrow
Conjures the wandering stars, and makes them stand
Like wonder-wounded hearers? This is I,
Hamlet the Dane. (leaps into the grave)
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LAERTES 235 The devil take thy soul!
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LAERTES The devil take thy soul!
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HAMLET and LAERTES grapple
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HAMLET and LAERTES grapple
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HAMLET Thou pray’st not well.
I prithee, take thy fingers from my throat,
For though I am not splenitive and rash,
Yet have I something in me dangerous,
240 Which let thy wisdom fear. Hold off thy hand.
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HAMLET Thou pray’st not well.
I prithee, take thy fingers from my throat,
For though I am not splenitive and rash,
Yet have I something in me dangerous,
Which let thy wisdom fear. Hold off thy hand.
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CLAUDIUS Pluck them asunder.
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CLAUDIUS Pluck them asunder.
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GERTRUDE Hamlet, Hamlet!
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GERTRUDE Hamlet, Hamlet!
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ALL Gentlemen—
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ALL Gentlemen—
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HORATIO (to HAMLET) Good my lord, be quiet.
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HORATIO (to HAMLET) Good my lord, be quiet.
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Attendants separate HAMLET and LAERTES
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Attendants separate HAMLET and LAERTES
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HAMLET Why, I will fight with him upon this theme
245 Until my eyelids will no longer wag.
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HAMLET Why, I will fight with him upon this theme
Until my eyelids will no longer wag.
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GERTRUDE O my son, what theme?
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GERTRUDE O my son, what theme?
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HAMLET I loved Ophelia. Forty thousand brothers
Could not with all their quantity of love
Make up my sum. What wilt thou do for her?
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HAMLET I loved Ophelia. Forty thousand brothers
Could not with all their quantity of love
Make up my sum. What wilt thou do for her?
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CLAUDIUS 250 O, he is mad, Laertes.
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CLAUDIUS O, he is mad, Laertes.
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GERTRUDE For love of God, forbear him.
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GERTRUDE For love of God, forbear him.
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HAMLET 'Swounds, show me what thou'lt do.
Woo’t weep? Woo’t fight? Woo’t fast? Woo’t tear thyself?
Woo’t drink up eisel, eat a crocodile?
255 I’ll do ’t. Dost thou come here to whine,
To outface me with leaping in her grave?
Be buried quick with her?—and so will I.
And if thou prate of mountains let them throw
Millions of acres on us, till our ground,
260 Singeing his pate against the burning zone,
Make Ossa like a wart! Nay, an thou'lt mouth,
I’ll rant as well as thou.
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HAMLET 'Swounds, show me what thou'lt do.
Woo’t weep? Woo’t fight? Woo’t fast? Woo’t tear thyself?
Woo’t drink up eisel, eat a crocodile?
I’ll do ’t. Dost thou come here to whine,
To outface me with leaping in her grave?
Be buried quick with her?—and so will I.
And if thou prate of mountains let them throw
Millions of acres on us, till our ground,
Singeing his pate against the burning zone,
Make Ossa like a wart! Nay, an thou'lt mouth,
I’ll rant as well as thou.
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GERTRUDE This is mere madness.
And thus a while the fit will work on him.
Anon, as patient as the female dove
265 When that her golden couplets are disclosed,
His silence will sit drooping.
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GERTRUDE This is mere madness.
And thus a while the fit will work on him.
Anon, as patient as the female dove
When that her golden couplets are disclosed,
His silence will sit drooping.
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HAMLET Hear you, sir.
What is the reason that you use me thus?
I loved you ever. But it is no matter.
Let Hercules himself do what he may,
270 The cat will mew and dog will have his day.
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HAMLET Hear you, sir.
What is the reason that you use me thus?
I loved you ever. But it is no matter.
Let Hercules himself do what he may,
The cat will mew and dog will have his day.
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Exit HAMLET
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Exit HAMLET
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CLAUDIUS I pray thee, good Horatio, wait upon him.
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CLAUDIUS I pray thee, good Horatio, wait upon him.
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Exit HORATIO
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Exit HORATIO
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(to LAERTES) Strengthen your patience in our last night’s speech.
We’ll put the matter to the present push.—
Good Gertrude, set some watch over your son.—
275 This grave shall have a living monument.
An hour of quiet shortly shall we see.
Till then in patience our proceeding be.
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(to LAERTES) Strengthen your patience in our last night’s speech.
We’ll put the matter to the present push.—
Good Gertrude, set some watch over your son.—
This grave shall have a living monument.
An hour of quiet shortly shall we see.
Till then in patience our proceeding be.
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Exeunt
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Exeunt
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